JUICE: MCDCC Truce with Labor, Del. Sheila Hixson Kills Retirement Rumor, Brown Denies Snubbing MoCo Advocate

Below Maryland Juice provides a round-up of news tidbits that may be of interest to politicos:

JUICE #1: MOCO DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE & LABOR ACTIVISTS FORMING COMBINED SLATE FOR 2014 MCDCC ELECTIONS - Last May MoCo Democratic politicos ended up in a divisive debate over the MoCo police union's displeasure with "Question B," an effort to end "effects bargaining rights" for county law enforcement workers. Maryland Juice predicted we hadn't heard the last of that story, and this week Bethesda Magazine's Lou Peck provided some follow-up. In the article below, Peck describes a new "unity" effort between members of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (MCDCC) and labor activists. It appears that MoCo Young Dems, MCDCC members, and labor activists are attempting to form a slate of MCDCC candidates for the June 2014 Democratic Primary (excerpt below):

BETHESDA MAGAZINE: The quadrennial election for Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (MCDCC) doesn’t usually attract much attention from Primary Day voters....  But the MCDCC found itself in an unwanted spotlight last May, when labor groups organized a boycott of the committee’s “Spring Ball” that kept a number of state and local Democratic officeholders away....

Now, with the filing deadline for committee slots just 10 weeks away, a peace initiative of sorts is underway involving MCDCC Chairman Gabriel Albornoz and representatives of several of the county’s leading labor groups.

Taking advantage of a larger than average turnover in the central committee next year –  due to retirements and several members seeking public office -- the apparent goal is to produce a unity slate of MCDCC candidates who are palatable to local labor groups, while representing something of a youth movement for the local party....

Albornoz is forming a screening panel—consisting of outgoing MCDCC members, along with a few party veterans—to interview applicants for the central committee, with an eye to producing a slate of candidates by mid-January. Two-thirds of the committee’s 24 seats are divided among the county’s eight state legislative district; the remaining members are chosen at-large.

Playing a major role in the effort is Dave Kunes, president of the Montgomery County Young Democrats, who is himself planning to seek a seat on the MCDCC and has recruited as many as 10 colleagues in the Young Democrats to apply during the slating process....

JUICE #2: DELEGATE SHEILA HIXSON STAMPS DOWN RUMORS OF A RETIREMENT - Though Maryland Juice was unaware of this, apparently there have been recent rumors of a possible retirement from Delegate Sheila Hixson. But Hixson's campaign aide Michael Vaughan reached out to Maryland Juice to stamp out the unfounded rumors with the following statement for publication:

MICHAEL VAUGHAN: I have heard a couple of rumors in the last few days, no doubt created by the usual mischief makers, that Delegate Sheila Hixson is retiring.  Sorry, not true.

I assure you and whoever reads this, that Sheila Hixson is running a vigorous campaign for re election in District 20 in 2014. We are well advanced in our planning for the campaign and have already begun making contact with the new precincts in D 20 who may not be familiar with the impressive record of Delegate Hixson and her powerful position in Annapolis.

As you know, Sheila and Senator Jamie Raskin have created a formidable legislative team, representing Montgomery County and the progressive values of District 20 reinforced by Sheila's position as Chair of House Ways and Means committee. 

Sheila and Jamie announced that they were running together after they led a walk across District 20 concluding with a well attended BBQ  at the Takoma Park VFW on October 26th.  I know the political waters in District 20 are swirling at the moment and you have a personal interest in the race but I know definitely that Jamie and Sheila are running and will continue to represent the progressive values of District 20.

I cannot speak for Delegate Tom Hucker but as far as I know he is running for re election for District 20. Tom is more than capable of handling rumors about his future plans.

We will continue to keep you informed as we ramp up our campaign. If anyone wants to know the status of our campaign please call and ask!  As you can know, I talk to Sheila all the time and I will be happy to inform you of the facts.

JUICE #3: MOCO ADVOCATE DISMAYED BY ANTHONY BROWN EVENT CANCELLATION // BROWN SAYS HE'S ATTENDING - A Maryland Juice source forwarded us the following email from Barbara Henry, the head of Committee for Montgomery, "a coalition of leaders representing a broad cross-section of Montgomery County business, labor, education, civic and community-based organizations. Our mission is to advocate in Annapolis on issues of importance to Montgomery County and the State. Through our membership, CfM represents more than 250,000 Montgomery County residents."

Committee for Montgomery is holding their annual breakfast this Monday, but today noted that Lt. Governor Anthony Brown has pulled out of attending at the last minute. As a result, the organization's head sent the following email message to Montgomery County's Councilmembers, Senators and Delegates:

BARBARA HENRY: We were informed, yesterday evening, that Lt. Governor Brown would not be participating in Committee for Montgomery’s breakfast on Monday.

As you can imagine, we were quite surprised to hear this at the 11th hour, particularly because we have an email commitment from his staff dated November 19th.

What this says about the Lt. Governor’s relationship with and commitment to Montgomery County I will leave to you to decide.

Since November 19th, we have been promoting his (and the other 4 candidates’) participation in the event.  As a result, will have to explain to the 750 attendees (most of whom, as you know, are at the political heart of Montgomery County) and the reporters from the Washington Post, Center Maryland, WAMU, and WJLA the circumstances surrounding Mr. Brown’s withdrawal.

If any of you have any influence whatsoever with Mr. Brown and his campaign, we would appreciate any influence you might bring to bear regarding a reconsideration of this decision.

The strangest part of this story, is that The Washington Post reported today that Brown does plan on attending the Committee for Montgomery breakfast (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Sparks are already starting to fly in advance of a Maryland gubernatorial forum scheduled for Monday — over who plans to attend....

A widely distributed e-mail on Thursday, however, suggested that Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D) had just backed out — and that organizers weren’t happy....

Brown will, in fact, be at the breakfast, his campaign manager Justin Schall said in an interview shortly after Henry’s e-mail was sent. “We are planning to attend,” Schall said. “We’ve always been planning to attend. I’m not sure what she’s talking about.”

ARGH: Lockheed Martin Corporate Welfare is Still Alive! // Del. Sheila Hixson Explains $1 Million "Compromise" to Local Dems

BACKGROUND: Maryland Juice has been following the persistent effort by state lawmakers to give a taxpayer-funded handout to weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin -- in exchange for nothing at all.  After years of failed attempts to persuade Montgomery County Councilmembers to issue Lockheed Martin millions of dollars in taxpayer funds, the Pentagon contractor's lobbyists are now pushing the state legislature to force MoCo to give Lockheed money. The public resistance to the Lockheed welfare plan has slowed down momentum for the legislation, but the bill simply won't die. Legislative leaders seem determined to give Lockheed Martin our tax dollars, and they are now on their third attempt to give away our money:

WELFARE ATTEMPT #1 - First our representatives tried to give Lockheed $1.8 million in straight up cash, plus $4.5 million in tax cuts every ten years.

WELFARE ATTEMPT #2 - After outcry from progressive advocates, the State Senate voted for a modified plan to "only" give Lockheed $4.5 million in tax cuts every ten years in perpetuity.  The State Senate recently voted 37-9 in favor of this "compromise" welfare plan for Lockheed.

WELFARE ATTEMPT #3 - After the Senate voted to support a handout for Lockheed, the bill advanced to the Maryland House Ways & Means Committee. In anticipation of the successful Senate vote,  Lockheed lobbyists planned a steak dinner at Ruth's Chris for Ways & Means members -- but they mysteriously canceled the dinner a few hours before it was scheduled to begin. Meanwhile, opponents of the Lockheed welfare plan called on Ways & Means Chair Sheila Hixson to use her position to kill the handout. We've been waiting for a sign as to whether Delegate Hixson planned on helping us out, and today we finally got a hint on Twitter. It appears that the public pressure is working, and Hixson may be being helpful in trying to weaken the Lockheed bill:



But it should be made clear that this third version of the Lockheed welfare bill is still unacceptable on substance, and the primary ask is for Committee Chair Sheila Hixson to simply kill the Lockheed bill once and for all. The compromise plan would still grant nearly $1 million in unjustified tax cuts to Lockheed at the expense of other vital services for Montgomery County residents.

CONTACT DEL. SHEILA HIXSON AND HOUSE WAYS & MEANS MEMBERS - On Thursday, the Ways & Means Committee will hold a hearing on the Lockheed Martin handout. Please contact Chair Sheila Hixson and the rest of the committee members  and urge them to kill this special interest handout. Delegate Hixson's email address is: sheila.hixson@house.state.md.us. Below we also provide the email addresses of the Ways & Means Committee members:

MARYLAND HOUSE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE

1. Sheila Hixson (D Chair) - sheila.hixson@house.state.md.us
2. Frank Turner (D Vice-Chair) - frank.turner@house.state.md.us
3. Kathy Afzali (R) - kathy.afzali@house.state.md.us
4. Kumar Barve (D) - kumar.barve@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED BILL SPONSOR
5. Joseph Boteler (R) - joseph.boteler@house.state.md.us
6. Talmadge Branch (D) - talmadge.branch@house.state.md.us
7. Jon Cardin (D) - jon.cardin@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED BILL SPONSOR
8. Don Dwyer (R) - don.dwyer@house.state.md.us
9. Mark Fisher (R) - mark.fisher@house.state.md.us
10. Bill Frick (D) - bill.frick@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED BILL SPONSOR
11. Ronald George (R) - ron.george@house.state.md.us
12. Nina Harper (D) - nina.harper@house.state.md.us
13. Carolyn Howard (D) - carolyn.howard@house.state.md.us
14. Jolene Ivey (D) - jolene.ivey@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED BILL SPONSOR
15. Anne Kaiser (D) - anne.kaiser@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED BILL SPONSOR
16. Eric Luedtke (D) - eric.luedtke@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED BILL SPONSOR
17. Aruna Miller (D) - aruna.miller@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED BILL SPONSOR
18. LeRoy Myers (R) - leroy.myers@house.state.md.us
19. Andrew Serafini (R) - andrew.serafini@house.state.md.us
20. Melvin Stukes (D) - melvin.stukes@house.state.md.us
21. Michael Summers (D) - michael.summers@house.state.md.us
22. Jay Walker (D) - jay.walker@house.state.md.us
23. Alonzo Washington (D) - alonzo.washington@house.state.md.us

MORE ON THE LOCKHEED MARTIN WELFARE BILL SOON!

UGH: MD Senate Approves Lockheed Handout // MEANWHILE: Key House Committee Quietly Cancels Steak Dinner w/ Lockheed

MARYLAND DEMOCRATS ARE BRUSHING ASIDE VOTERS TO APPROVE THE LOCKHEED MARTIN WELFARE PLAN - Maryland Juice has been tracking the scandalous efforts by our politicians to give Pentagon contractor Lockheed Martin millions of dollars of corporate welfare -- in exchange for nothing at all. Over the objections of the Montgomery County Council, state lawmakers are trying to force MoCo to exempt Lockheed (and Lockheed alone) from having to pay millions in lodging taxes. No other person or business in Maryland gets to avoid this tax -- but then again no other company has the chutzpah of Lockheed Martin (consistently rated tops in the nation for government contract abuse). Even worse, Lockheed is admitting that the Federal government already reimburses them for most or all of the lodging tax that they are now trying to avoid paying!

In these challenging budgetary times, the Lockheed handout would net the wildly profitable company $4.5 million from our taxpayers every ten years in perpetuity. This is the same Lockheed that a few months ago used 3.5 million taxpayer dollars to give their CEO a golden parachute after he was caught having an affair with a subordinate (excerpt via AmericaBlog):

AMERICA BLOG: A man who was being groomed to take over as CEO of Lockheed, the nation’s largest defense contractor, has been forced to resign shortly before taking office. The reason — he was having a long-term extramarital affair with a “subordinate employee." But that’s not the scandal — the scandal is that you, the taxpayer, will pony up $3.5 million as a parting gift (or maybe a “partying gift”) even though he resigned in disgrace....

Dozens of groups have called on Democratic lawmakers to shut down Lockheed Martin's corporate welfare plan, but it looks like the politicians still aren't getting the message.

ROLL CALL // LOCKHEED CORPORATE WELFARE PLAN PASSES STATE SENATE 37 TO 9 - Late Monday night, the State Senate finally held a long-delayed vote on the Lockheed Martin welfare plan, and our elected officials demonstrated a rare moment of bipartisanship to pass this massive corporate hackery by the overwhelming margin of 37 to 9. Here are the only nine State Senators who rejected this inherently ridiculous welfare handout:

1. Jim Brochin (Democrat)
2. Brian Frosh (Democrat)
3. Delores Kelley (Democrat)
4. Karen Montgomery (Democrat)
5. Anthony Muse (Democrat)
6. Paul Pinsky (Democrat)
7. Jamie Raskin (Democrat)
8. Bryan Simonaire (Republican)
9. Bobby Zirkin (Democrat)

A RARE MOMENT OF "BIPARTISANSHIP" FOR THE LOCKHEED HANDOUT - Amazingly, bipartisanship appears to be alive and well when it comes to corporate welfare. A bipartisan supermajority made up of 37 Senators voted to support this blind handout for Lockheed Martin (see their names here). The list includes all but one GOP member of the Senate, and 5 of the 8 State Senators from liberal Montgomery County. Maryland Juice has heard reports of intense lobbying from leadership figures and Lockheed Martin lobbyists in Annapolis, but I am disappointed that this sort of pro-forma pressure and institutional inertia actually works on our mostly able-minded Senators. Oy vey! 


BATTLE TO STOP LOCKHEED MARTIN HANDOUT MOVES TO HOUSE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE - Even though the Maryland Senate approved the Lockheed Martin welfare plan, voters still have several more opportunities to kill this proposal. The Lockheed bill (HB815) will now be debated in the House of Delegates Ways & Means Committee, where Montgomery County's Sheila Hixson serves as Committee Chair.  But the launch of the Lockheed effort in Hixson's committee was met with some early controversy....

HOUSE WAYS & MEANS MEMBERS QUIETLY CANCEL PRIVATE DINNER WITH LOCKHEED MARTIN LOBBYISTS AT RUTH'S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE - Amazingly, Lockheed Martin had planned a private dinner with the members of the House of Delegates Ways & Means Committee members only one day after the State Senate voted to send the Lockheed bill to the Ways & Means Committee. Indeed, Lockheed lobbyists had planned to ply the members of Sheila Hixson's committee with a lovely meal at Ruth's Chris Steak House in Annapolis. But someone apparently sensed that the public would go nuts about such shameless crony capitalism tactics, and the event was quickly and quietly canceled yesterday afternoon -- only 4.5 hours before the dinner was due to begin! Look at the leaked email below:

From: West, Nikki <Nikki.West@mlis.state.md.us>
Date: Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 2:28 PM
Subject: Protocol Calendar Cancelation
To: Senate of Maryland <Senators@mlis.state.md.us>, MD House of Delegates <Delegates@mlis.state.md.us>

Good Afternoon,

Please note the following Cancelation in the Protocol Calendar.

TUESDAY, March 19, 2013 - 7:00 p.m.
Lockheed Martin and Ways & Means Committee Dinner
Ruth's Chris
(House W&M Committee)
Susan Bernard - (410) 974-9000
BY INVITATION ONLY

STOP THE LOCKHEED WELFARE BILL IN THE HOUSE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE - I know I can't be the only one who is sick and tired of this type of cynical corporate politics. Maryland Juice encourages readers to contact Delegate Hixson ASAP, along with the other members of the Ways & Means Committee. Notably, Delegate Hixson has the power as a committee Chair to simply kill this bill by herself:

Photo Source: Edward Kimmel

ACT NOW

[ TELL WAYS & MEANS CHAIR SHEILA HIXSON TO KILL THE LOCKHEED BILL ]

Below I've listed the email addresses for the 23 Delegates on Ways & Means. I've also flagged their political parties and highlighted in red the 7 committee members who are sponsoring the Lockheed welfare bill (see below):

MARYLAND HOUSE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE

1. Sheila Hixson (D Chair) - sheila.hixson@house.state.md.us
2. Frank Turner (D Vice-Chair) - frank.turner@house.state.md.us
3. Kathy Afzali (R) - kathy.afzali@house.state.md.us
4. Kumar Barve (D) - kumar.barve@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED WELFARE SPONSOR
5. Joseph Boteler (R) - joseph.boteler@house.state.md.us
6. Talmadge Branch (D) - talmadge.branch@house.state.md.us
7. Jon Cardin (D) - jon.cardin@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED WELFARE SPONSOR
8. Don Dwyer (R) - don.dwyer@house.state.md.us
9. Mark Fisher (R) - mark.fisher@house.state.md.us
10. Bill Frick (D) - bill.frick@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED WELFARE SPONSOR
11. Ronald George (R) - ron.george@house.state.md.us
12. Nina Harper (D) - nina.harper@house.state.md.us
13. Carolyn Howard (D) - carolyn.howard@house.state.md.us
14. Jolene Ivey (D) - jolene.ivey@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED WELFARE SPONSOR
15. Anne Kaiser (D) - anne.kaiser@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED WELFARE SPONSOR
16. Eric Luedtke (D) - eric.luedtke@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED WELFARE SPONSOR
17. Aruna Miller (D) - aruna.miller@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED WELFARE SPONSOR
18. LeRoy Myers (R) - leroy.myers@house.state.md.us
19. Andrew Serafini (R) - andrew.serafini@house.state.md.us
20. Melvin Stukes (D) - melvin.stukes@house.state.md.us
21. Michael Summers (D) - michael.summers@house.state.md.us
22. Jay Walker (D) - jay.walker@house.state.md.us
23. Alonzo Washington (D) - alonzo.washington@house.state.md.us

CONTINGENCIES - If Sheila Hixson is unwilling to kill the Lockheed Welfare bill in the Ways & Means Committee, advocates will have to fight this unjust corporate handout on the House Floor. And if that fails, it is time to ask Governor O'Malley to break out his VETO sword!


MORE ON THE LOCKHEED MARTIN WELFARE SCANDAL SOON!


P.S. MARYLAND TAXPAYERS FUND A CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR LOBBYISTS & LAWMAKERS?  - The email copied above, which announced the cancellation of the Lockheed dinner, mentioned that the event was listed in a "protocol calendar." But as Maryland Juice has discovered, a "protocol calendar" is in reality a "lobbyist event calendar," plain and simple.

It turns out that our state tax dollars are spent on staff time for government employees to build and maintain this calendar of lobbyist events. Amazingly, the "protocol calendar" was apparently intended to bring transparency to the fact that these lobbyist-lawmaker mixers even occur. Fair enough, but it seems more and more like the calendar is actually facilitating the lobbyist contacts with legislators. Maybe lawmakers need to rename the "protocol calendar" with a less deceptive name (like "lobbyist event calendar") and proactively make sure they are actually seen by the public. If you're curious to see which industry lobbyists have been wining and dining your lawmakers, you can see two copies of protocol calendars from 2013. It looks like lawmakers have multiple options for lobbyist-paid meals practically every day of the legislative session!

Maryland Lobbyist Events - March 2013

Maryland Lobbyist Events - January 2013

Support for Lockheed Martin Corporate Welfare Sinking // They're Trying to Hoodwink Taxpayers Into Paying Them Twice

BACKGROUND: Earlier this week Maryland Juice cried foul over attempts by some lawmakers in Annapolis to give Pentagon weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin millions of dollars in corporate welfare. Lockheed has been claiming that a $100 million private hotel and conference center they built should be exempt from Montgomery County's lodging and hotel tax, even though every other visitor and conference attendee in MoCo must pay this lodging tax. Lockheed is headquartered in Montgomery County, but ironically so are the Marriott and Choice Hotels corporations. Over the objections of County Executive Ike Leggett, the County Council twice rejected this proposal, and did so again for a third time on Monday:



Below Maryland Juice provides several updates on the quickly exploding story, followed by a deconstruction of Lockheed's B.S. arguments:


LAWMAKERS RETREATING FROM LOCKHEED PROPOSAL (KIND OF) - The proposal to give Lockheed a handout has sparked outrage across Maryland and is now making national news. Meanwhile, some lawmakers are quietly tiptoeing away from the Lockheed handout.  Our sources in Annapolis indicate that though the bill was on the verge of passage in the State Senate earlier this week, Senators have delayed a final floor vote and are trying to pass a half-assed "compromise" with Lockheed Martin. Instead of giving Lockheed $1.8 million in handouts, plus $450,000 a year, Maryland lawmakers are now proposing to eliminate the $1.8 million cash payment and "only" give Lockheed $450,000 a year. This "compromise" is unacceptable, as it still amounts to Montgomery County paying Lockheed Martin $4.5 million every ten years. Aren't we struggling to find funding for the Purple Line, Corridor Cities Transitway and other transportation projects?


LOCKHEED MARTIN TRYING TO GET HOTEL TAXES REFUNDED TWICE - Notably, 82% of Lockheed's revenue already comes from taxpayer funding, and company lobbyists have admitted that they are already being reimbursed by the Feds for a very large percentage of the MoCo hotel tax! A May 4th County Council analyst memo includes an admission from Lockheed that they already get 50%-75% (or more?) of their hotel taxes reimbursed by the Feds (aka taxpayers):

LOCKHEED MARTIN: The CLE lodging tax is rolled into our overall corporate overhead costs and those costs are allocated to different businesses and to different contracts based on what the contracts are and what form they take -e.g., fixed-price, cost-plus, etc. In addition, different contracts have different cost reimbursement rates.... There is a range of reimbursement for contract costs, depending on the contract vehicle and what the Federal Government has agreed to reimburse. That range can vary greatly - for some contracts its 50%, for others it might be 75% -- it depends. The significant point is that we build corporate overhead costs into our contracts in advance when we seek to do business with our customers....

Lockheed Martin wants taxpayers to pay them THREE TIMES for this hotel tax. First, Lockheed's "customers" are government agencies funded by taxpayers. The Huffington Post noted last November that 82% of Lockheed's funding comes from taxpayers (excerpt below):

HUFFINGTON POST: [The] U.S. government is essentially Lockheed's only customer. Last year, a full 82 percent of their sales came from Uncle Sam directly while a good portion of the remaining 17 percent was funded by the federal government through our support for foreign military sales and local and state government security contracts. Put another way, nearly every penny that Lockheed earns comes directly from you and me.

Second, Lockheed (by their own admission) is already getting reimbursed by the Feds (aka taxpayers) for most of the MoCo hotel tax -- an outrage in itself. But it is simply incomprehensible that after all this free taxpayer money, Lockheed also wants Montgomery County to give them the same amount of money they've already been refunded by the Feds. In short, Lockheed Martin's lobbyists are trying to pull a fast one on Maryland lawmakers and clearly cannot be trusted.

Bethesda Now's poll on the Lockheed welfare plan

SENATORS PLANNING ON VOTING AGAINST LOCKHEED WELFARE PLAN - A bipartisan group of State Senators is planning on voting against the entire Lockheed Martin welfare proposal, including Jamie Raskin, Brian Frosh, Karen Montgomery, Paul Pinsky, Bobby Zirkin, Jim Brochin, Bryan Simonaire and more. But there are potentially more "no" votes for the Lockheed welfare plan in the Senate, given that in a vote last Friday, the group of Lockheed opponents listed above was joined by Senators Lisa Gladden, Barry Glassman, Nancy Jacobs, Allan Kittleman, Anthony Muse, E.J. Pipkin, Ed Reilly, Jim Rosapepe, and Norm Stone in trying to slow down the attempted shotgunning of the Lockheed bill through the legislative process.

Notably, State Senator Brian Frosh is running for Attorney General in 2014, and two of his Democratic Primary opponents (Del. Jon Cardin & Bill Frick) are sponsoring the Lockheed Welfare bill in the House. It seems clear that passage of the Lockheed Martin handout could become a serious political liability for candidates running for office in 2014. Notably, Lockheed's private hotel is located in Bethesda, Maryland, but the Bethesda Now website is running a poll on the topic, and it appears that the vast majority of readers view the welfare proposal negatively (see screenshot at right).


FOUR STEPS TO DEFEAT LOCKHEED'S CORPORATE WELFARE PLAN - If activists want to kill this bill for good, now is the time to act. The State Senate is due to vote on the measure again tomorrow (Wednesday), and if the bill is not killed, it will next head to the House of Delegates Ways & Means Committee. Advocates are planning a four-step process to kill this legislation:

• STEP 1:  Fight Lockheed on the Senate Floor [Contact Your Senators]
• STEP 2:  Fight Lockheed in House Ways & Means [Contact Committee Chair Sheila Hixson]
• STEP 3:  Fight Lockheed on the House Floor [Contact Your Delegates]
• STEP 4:  Urge Gov. Martin O'Malley to VETO Lockheed Welfare [Contact Gov. O'Malley]

NATIONAL MEDIA OUTLETS COVERING THE LOCKHEED WELFARE SCANDAL - Interest in Lockheed Martin's corporate welfare proposal has attracted interest from the national news media, including a pair of articles in The Huffington Post. The outlet's corporate welfare reporter Paul Blumenthal provided a quick snapshot of the rapidly escalating opposition to the Lockheed bill (excerpt below):

HUFFINGTON POST: In an age of budget cuts and hard choices, state lawmakers in Annapolis, Md., are pushing a benefit for the world's largest defense manufacturer that would lead to lower funding for other programs in one Maryland county....

On Monday, the Montgomery County Council voted to oppose the legislation. Lockheed Martin had previously tried and failed to push the tax exemption through the council: Once it was included in County Executive Ike Leggett's budget, and another time Leggett (D) attempted to use state grant money to reimburse the company for past paid taxes....

"There's simply no reason why everybody else who comes to Montgomery County for a conference or a training and stays overnight should pay the lodging tax, but not people who are staying at their conference and training center," state Sen. Jamie Raskin (D), who represents parts of Montgomery County, told HuffPost.

If the legislation is enacted, the county will need to find savings in its budget immediately, according to [Montgomery County Councilmember George] Leventhal. "It would be $1.8 or $1.4 million [in a onetime payment] and $450,000 every year that would not go to fund Head Start, day care, police, fire and all the other functions of government," Leventhal said....

Over the past year, Lockheed Martin has doled out $30,000 in campaign contributions to Maryland state political candidates and entities, including $1,000 to state Sen. Mike Miller and $500 each to state Sen. Robert Garagiola and Del. Bill Frick, all Democratic sponsors of the legislation. The largest contribution was a $25,000 donation to the Democratic State Central Committee of Maryland....

Huffington Post columnist Lawrence Wittner provided additional details on the Lockheed corporate welfare proposal (excerpt below):

HUFFINGTON POST: At this time of severe cutbacks in government funding for food stamps, early childhood education, and meals on wheels, some Maryland legislators are hard at work looking out for the welfare of one of the world's wealthiest corporations....

It should be noted that, when Lockheed Martin's employees stay at the hotel, the company can usually pass on the costs to the appropriate federal contract. Thus, in most cases, the federal government already compensates Lockheed Martin for any hotel tax it pays.

In 2012, Ike Leggett, the County Executive, spearheaded a new effort to subsidize Lockheed Martin by proposing that the corporation be given a no-strings "grant" of $900,000 to compensate it for the hotel taxes it paid in 2011 and 2012.... Ultimately, the County Council refused to allocate the grant to Lockheed Martin.

Lockheed Martin maintains that its conference hotel is a "private" facility, solely devoted to training its employees, and for this reason its guests should not have to pay the tax. And it is true that Lockheed Martin decides who can reside there.

But the 183-room hotel is not, in fact, limited to Lockheed Martin employees. It is available for contractors, vendors, and anyone else the company welcomes. For example, the business school of the University of Southern California held a conference there in October 2012, with attendees offered the option of staying at the hotel for $225 per night or finding their own accommodations. Benchmark Hospitality International, which manages the facility, advertises it online as "a private, full-service business-class lodging and conference center," with a sports bar, fitness facility, lounge, and other amenities....

LARGE COALITION OF ACTIVISTS MOBILIZING AGAINST LOCKHEED WELFARE PROPOSAL - Maryland's progressive activist community has sprung into action to try and stamp out the Lockheed Martin corporate welfare proposal. Last night, advocates fanned out and met with Maryland lawmakers urging them to kill the Lockheed handout, including members of Common Cause, Peace Action, SEIU, Progressive Maryland, Progressive Neighbors, the firefighters, teachers, police and more. Below you can see the flyer they were distributing in Annapolis:

FLYER: Coalition Forms to Oppose Lockheed Martin Corporate Welfare Plan

National activist groups are also beginning to weigh in on the Lockheed plan. The online civil liberties group RootsAction published an alert about the Maryland corporate welfare bill, noting Lockheed's recent and high-profile acts of corporate malfeasance (excerpt below):

ROOTSACTION: What's the world's biggest war profiteer to do if it already owns the federal government but is having trouble kicking around the local government of Montgomery County, Maryland, where it's headquartered?  Why, hire the state of Maryland to step in, of course....

The list of abuses by Lockheed Martin includes contract fraud, unfair business practices, kickbacks, mischarges, inflated costs, defective pricing, improper pricing, unlicensed exporting to foreign nations (Lockheed Martin sells weapons to governments of all sorts around the world), air and water pollution, fraud, bribery, federal election law violations, overbilling, radiation exposure, age discrimination, illegal transfer of information to China, falsification of testing records, embezzlement, racial discrimination, retaliation against whistleblowers, bid-rigging, and much more....

Lockheed not only funds Republicans and Democrats alike with over $3 million per election cycle, lobbies officials for another $30 million, hires former officials, and shapes corporate news, but Lockheed Martin also creates local panics by threatening to notify every one of its employees that they might be fired if U.S. war preparations spending doesn't continue to grow....

Lockheed Martin is based in suburban Washington, D.C., in Montgomery County, Md.  For years, Lockheed Martin and its friends at the Washington Post have been trying to get the local government to excuse the patrons of Lockheed Martin's luxury hotel from paying taxes.  Montgomery County is home to terrific peace activists who can, of course, get virtually nowhere with Congress, but who can make their voices heard locally.  This has frustrated Lockheed Martin no end.....

YOUR TAX DOLLARS USED TO BAIL OUT LOCKHEED MARTIN'S PENSION FUND - It is not surprising to Maryland Juice to see so many public employee unions opposing the Lockheed welfare plan. After all, many government employees have been facing pension cuts, stagnant pay and more, and lawmakers have been arguing this has been necessary to stave off budget problems. But Mother Jones noted that while public employees are losing their pensions, taxpayers continue to fund Lockheed Martin's pension shortfalls (excerpt below):

MOTHER JONES: Government contracts with megafirms like ... Lockheed Martin ... require Uncle Sam to reimburse the companies when their workers' pension funds take a hit in the market. Over the past five years, Lockheed has secured $3.1 billion in taxpayer dollars for pension reimbursements; that's a significant chunk of the $21.8 billion in operating profits they reported over that period.

These payments are all the more troubling since politicians from the left and the right (including President Obama) have targeted military veterans' retirement benefits in their cost-cutting zeal. But vets make a whole lot less than contractors.... Morgenson reports that the current value of the top five Lockheed Martin executives' benefits is around $40 million....

But federal pension payments to contractors are increasing at a furious clip. The reason: These companies made some really bad recession-era investments with their workers' retirement dollars, and a margin call is coming. The Times reports that Raytheon's pension fund was underfunded by $4 billion at the end of 2010. That's nothing compared with Lockheed, whose pension is a whopping $10.4 billion in the red, and "[a]s Lockheed contributes money to make up for this shortfall, the government will reimburse it..."

LOCKHEED'S PRIVATE HOTEL AND CONFERENCE CENTER IS OBVIOUSLY A "LODGING" FACILITY - So after all of the aforementioned arguments, the only claim that Lockheed has left in its arsenal is a very legalistic definition of whether their $100 million private hotel and conference center (built off the profits gleaned from taxpayers) qualifies as a hotel or lodging facility. The company claims that their Bethesda facility is not a hotel or lodging facility, but this argument doesn't pass the straight face test. Below, Maryland Juice provides a very humorous example of evidence that Hotel Lockheed is indeed a lodging facility in the plain English meaning of the term. Travel review website Tripadvisor.com rates the Lockheed hotel #11 out of 12 hotels in Bethesda, and former guests at Hotel Lockheed indicate that they have been forced to book their lodgings there, even when cheaper and more convenient hotels are available:

“Not bad for a prison.”

Reviewed December 18, 2010

24

people found this review helpful

Restricted web access, no facilities on the weekend (e.g. food, exercise, etc.). It's the greatest white-elephant Lockheed has thought up yet. Lucky LM employees who are forced to stay there even if other hotels are closer to their business needs, better, and a lot cheaper.

“Indoctrination into the cult of Lockheed Martin”

Reviewed May 8, 2011

28

people found this review helpful

I literally spit Coke on my keyboard when I read the "minimum security prison" review, and had to add my own thoughts. I was stuck at the CLE for 6 days of "indoctrination" and felt like I had just checked into a cult! If the prominent "architectural water feature" didn't give it away, the fact that you couldn't go 10 feet without seeing pictures of prisms and rainbows made it clear what I had gotten myself into.

The CLE is probably the most expensive hotel in the area. The food and staff are great, but I was itching to leave after 1 night. The internet is restricted so you can't upload iTunes or watch any type of streaming videos; the cable TV is company propaganda; hallways are video monitored for security (but don't even think about leaving your room unless you're in a collared shirt); the jogging trails close at 5pm and security will escort you back inside the building if you're out after dark; and there's absolutely no signs if civilization within this office park wasteland.

My advice: If you're stuck at the CLE, get takeout meals from the cafeteria and eat them in your room so you don't get sucked into socializing with the corporate drones. Use the quiet time after classes to update your resume so you can make your escape!

Room Tip: Do not show up unshaven!

These humorous entries are just the tip-of-the-iceberg when it comes to evidence that Lockheed's building in Bethesda is a "lodging" facility. Maryland Juice will be happy to debate Lockheed on this point anytime, anywhere.


MORE ON THE LOCKHEED WELFARE SCANDAL SOON!

JuiceBlender: Jamie Raskin Flashmob & Mustard, Garagiola & Hixson Seek MoCo VFW Slots, Doug Duncan: Purple Line Foe?

Below Maryland Juice highlights a few tidbits relating to MoCo politics, starting with a few items regarding Sen. Jamie Raskin's unusual fundraising event last night:

JUICE #1: SEN. JAMIE RASKIN CELEBRATES 50TH BIRTHDAY W/ A FLASH MOB, MUSTARD & SOLD OUT FUNDRAISER - Last night State Senator Jamie Raskin (D20 Democrat) hosted a 50th birthday fundraiser in downtown Silver Spring. The event reportedly sold out with 600 RSVP's on the eve of the celebration. You can see a quick photo from the fundraiser below, but more interesting than the size of the crowd is the flash mob and mustard that accompanied the event. Details after the photo:

A large crowd packs the Silver Spring Civic Center for Sen. Jamie Raskin's 50th Birthday

In conjunction with the birthday fundraiser, Raskin had announced earlier in the week that downtown Silver Spring would be the site of a Jamie Raskin "dance flashmob" on the afternoon of his fundraiser. I did a double-take when I received the following email announcement for the pre-event dance party (excerpt below):

RASKIN FLASH MOB INVITATION: We are now inviting the world to come participate in an historic Rock&Roll Flash-Mob Birthday Dance Eruption at 4:36 PM on Saturday, December 1, just a few hours before my birthday bash, in downtown Silver Spring on Ellsworth Avenue, to be led by the extraordinary Alyce Jenkins and dozens of her students at the Maryland Youth Ballet who are going to take off their Nutcracker ballet slippers, come outside and rock out in the heart of downtown Silver Spring with hundreds of fired-up 50th birthday revelers....

Maryland Juice did not actually get to attend the flashmob, but luckily an attendee posted a video of the dance on YouTube:



Note that prior to joining up with the flashmob, participants had the opportunity to learn the dance steps through an instructional YouTube video:



Perhaps equally as unusual as the Raskin flashmob dance is the party favor that was given to attendees of the birthday party: a bottle of Jamie Raskin mustard (seriously!). I'm not quite sure if there's a story behind this, but I'm told that Raskin is related to the owner of the world's only mustard museum. In any case, see a photo of the limited edition Raskin mustard below:

JUICE #2: SEN. ROB GARAGIOLA & DEL. SHEILA HIXSON SEEK SLOT MACHINES AT MONTGOMERY COUNTY VETERANS HALLS - That didn't take long. Only weeks after the passage of gambling expansion in Maryland, State Senator Rob Garagiola and Delegate Sheila Hixson are proposing a new law allowing slot machines at veterans halls in Montgomery County. The Gazette recently reported on the Democratic lawmakers' insistence on continuing to prioritize gambling expansion in Maryland (excerpt below):

GAZETTE: Veterans’ groups from Montgomery County soon may be allowed to operate gambling machines in their halls, a privilege denied to them during the August special General Assembly session.

When lawmakers voted to expand gambling in the state, they included a provision to allow some gambling machines at veterans organizations west of the Chesapeake Bay — except in Montgomery County, where delegates were reluctant to sign on without local discussion and hearings.

Sen. Robert J. Garagiola (D-Dist. 15) of Germantown and Del. Sheila E. Hixson (D-Dist. 20) of Silver Spring have prepared a bill to do away with that exemption in the upcoming legislative session.... A hearing on county bills will be held Dec. 3 in Rockville.

HOW ARE WE HELPING VETERANS BY PUSHING THEM TO GAMBLE MORE OF THEIR MONEY? - The supporters of placing slot machines at Montgomery County's neighborhood VFW & American Legion posts argue that only members of the veterans halls will be able to gamble there. Even still, this further expansion of gambling in Maryland has been a controversial issue. Opponents have argued that the definition of a "veterans hall" is very vague and could lead to backdoor slot machines in undesired locations. In a guest column on Maryland Juice, Delegate Doyle Niemann argued that the most recent round of expanded gambling at veterans halls would lead to a creep of neighborhood gambling sites (excerpt below):

DOYLE NIEMANN: ...there is no requirement as to being an established organization....  so presumably anyone can go out and incorporate a new organization and then apply. Expect that to happen....

As to who can play, some veterans organizations may limit admission to members, but there is no requirement under the bill that they do so.  The only limit is that the machines have to be at the place of business of the organization.  So a "veterans" thrift store open to the public might be able to get slot machines and have them available to the public.  Again, expect that....

But even if Doyle Niemann is wrong, I think there is something perverse about the policy logic of trying to help veterans by encouraging them to gamble more -- and to do it by placing slot machines in their neighborhood haunts. Moreover, giving special privileges to veterans nonprofits that will be denied to the numerous other struggling nonprofits in Montgomery County would be completely arbitrary. Veterans halls may be struggling for funds, but so are numerous worthy non-profits offering programs ranging from food assistance and health services, to legal representation and housing for the indigent. Following Hixson and Garagiola's logic, we could give them all a fundraising boost by allowing them to operate slot machines targeted at their members. It is unfortunate that so many Democratic lawmakers seem to love using the lazy and unproductive revenue from gambling as a substitute for actually making tough decisions. I wouldn't exactly call it intelligent policy logic to propose helping retired Armed services members by encouraging them to gamble more. In fact, I was a bit encouraged to see that Montgomery County was exempted from this sort of inept policymaking during the summer's special session. But it turns out that was just a fake-out, and we may not have been spared from the expansion of slots after all.

If Sheila Hixson and Rob Garagiola get their way, I will be sandwiched between two new toeholds of gambling in Maryland. There is an American Legion Post one mile from my house in Silver Spring and a VFW Post one-and-a-half miles from me in Takoma Park:

KEY:  (A) Silver Spring American Legion Post,  (B) Takoma Park VFW Post

If you want to see if there is a "veterans hall" slot parlor proposed for your neighborhood, you can consult the (perhaps incomplete) list I've compiled below:

Montgomery County's American Legion & VFW Posts:

• BETHESDA: 4800 AUBURN AVE (AMERICAN LEGION)
• DAMASCUS: 10201 LEWIS DR (AMERICAN LEGION)
• GAITHERSBURG: 211 N. FREDERICK AVE (VFW)
• POTOMAC: 11511 MACARTHUR BLVD (VFW)
• ROCKVILLE: 621 SOUTHLAWN LN (AMERICAN LEGION)
• ROCKVILLE: 2013 VEIRS MILL RD (AMERICAN LEGION)
• SILVER SPRING: 11316 FERN ST (VFW)
• SILVER SPRING: 905 SLIGO AVE (AMERICAN LEGION)
• TAKOMA PARK: 6420 ORCHARD AVE (VFW)
• WHEATON: 11225 FERN ST (AMERICAN LEGION)

TESTIFY TOMORROW OR SEND AN EMAIL TODAY // TELL HIXSON & GARAGIOLA, NO SLOTS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY: Clearly the expansion of gambling in Maryland is never going to end, unless we speak out and tell them to quit it. Senate President Mike Miller, after all, is already talking about adding even more casinos to neighboring Prince George's County. If you want to speak out against the effort to push MoCo veterans to gamble more, there is a public hearing TOMORROW (MONDAY) at 7:00 pm in Rockville:

Monday, December 3, 2012  - House Hearing for local bills: 7:00 PM - 3rd Floor Hearing Room, Stella Werner Council Office Bldg., 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD 20850 - Local bills refer to legislation affecting issues specific to Montgomery County. Click here to sign up to testify.

You can also email Sen. Rob Garagiola & Del. Sheila Hixson to encourage them to drop their MoCo slot expansion effort at the email addresses below:

• rob.garagiola@senate.state.md.us
• sheila.hixson@house.state.md.us

JUICE #3: DOES DOUG DUNCAN STILL OPPOSE THE PURPLE LINE? - Now that former Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan has announced a 2014 bid for the Exec's office, some politicos are raising problems with his take on key issues. Indeed, much of the mainstream media coverage about Duncan thus far has credited him with being forward-thinking about downtown Silver Spring redevelopment, and other such projects. But yesterday a MoCo politico forwarded us a website link and news article indicating that Duncan may not be so forward-thinking on one of Montgomery County's key economic development and transportation priorities: The Purple Line.

The Purple Line is a proposed light rail line that would run East-West between Bethesda in Montgomery County and New Carrollton in Prince George's County. The line would stop through College Park, Silver Spring, Chevy Chase and other neighborhoods along the way, with the goal of taking cars off the road and discouraging further sprawl development. Full disclosure: I previously served as a campaign director for Purple Line NOW!

DOUG DUNCAN'S HISTORY OF ADVOCACY AGAINST THE PURPLE LINE - In spite of my personal support for this project, it would not be controversial to suggest that the Purple Line might be MoCo's top transportation priority. The fact that Doug Duncan has historically opposed the Purple Line suggests he might not "get" today's Montgomery County and the evolving dynamics between the area's housing market, jobs, and transit. I made this point on News Channel 8 last Friday. Indeed, Duncan's political coming-of-age occurred during a period when the political battles lines were drawn differently around land-use issues. A MoCo politico who likely agrees, shared with Maryland Juice an unusual page from the website of the Action Committee for Transit (ACT). The MoCo-based transit advocacy group highlights a candidate pledge that "Doug Duncan signed in 1994, when first running for county executive, to oppose light rail between Bethesda and Silver Spring — the core of what is now the Purple Line."

Doug Duncan's 1994 candidate pledge opposing the Purple Line

Our source also points to comments Duncan made in The Washington Post seven years later in 2001, slamming the idea of the Purple Line: "Duncan, who did not attend Glendening's announcement, said the new line would mostly serve people already using transit and do little to get people out of their cars and onto trains. It also would not extend across the Potomac River from Bethesda, something Duncan argues is needed to reduce traffic congestion." The article's headline blared, "Decision to Build Purple Line Inside Beltway Fires Up Duncan." Has Doug Duncan become less car-centric in the last decade? 

VIRGINIA IS BUILDING THE SILVER LINE - Indeed, in 2014 it would be strange for Doug Duncan to campaign on economic development in Montgomery County but continue opposing a potential major driver of job-creation. In remarks to The Washington Post about his candidacy last week, Duncan stated "that he thinks the county is 'slipping' against Northern Virginia when it comes to attracting businesses. 'I’m concerned that Montgomery County is getting a much bigger reputation that it is being anti-business'...."

Duncan, however, should be concerned that Virginia pulled off a major coup by breaking ground on the new Metro Silver Line. If you've driven on a highway to Virginia lately, you've surely seen the metro tracks under construction. The new transit line to Dulles has already sent Herndon home prices soaring, and it promises to give our Confederate neighbors the ability to turn their noses up against MoCo's continual failure to secure transit funding. Indeed, many expect the Silver Line to be a lure for businesses and residents alike. But instead of fighting for transit funding, so many business leaders in Montgomery County are obsessed with their tax rates and have made unrealistic tax cuts their primary policy priority.

WHERE IS DOUG DUNCAN TODAY ON THE PURPLE LINE? - So in a 2014 campaign for Montgomery County Executive, where will Doug Duncan be on the Purple Line? Ike Leggett always seemed fairly lukewarm and cautious on the project, and Duncan's history has shown him to be an active opponent. Meanwhile, more and more of today's Montgomery County residents want transit-friendly, mixed-use walkable neighborhoods. One need only look at local real-estate market trends to note this obvious fact. Likewise, policymakers need to think about these trends in terms of making sure Montgomery County is competitive in maintaining and creating vibrant, desirable neighborhoods. After all, the high quality of life in MoCo is what keeps us strong. That includes our schools, transit access and housing -- but increasingly, housing and transit creation are getting short shrift from politicians. But candidates do often try to re-invent themselves. We shall soon see how Duncan comes out on the issues.

Gov. Martin O'Malley Announces Special Session for Aug. 9 // MoCo Leaders Held Heated Meeting to Debate Gambling

UPDATE: The Baltimore Sun last night reported that casino company MGM is no longer pursuing a tax cut for Maryland slot machines. The company is hoping to build a casino at Prince George's County's National Harbor, but had insisted that Maryland's 67% tax on slot machine revenue be lowered. Maryland lawmakers were then barraged with direct mail and calls from constituents complaining about lowering taxes on casino owners while ordinary residents were facing a tax increase. See an excerpt from The Baltimore Sun report below:

BALTIMORE SUN: The chief executive officer of MGM Resorts International, which wants to open a luxury casino at National Harbor, said Thursday that his company has dropped efforts to win tax breaks from the Maryland General Assembly to build a gambling palace at the Prince George's County site....

In an interview with The Baltimore Sun, Murren conceded the line of attack has resonated. "It has played very well," Murren said. "'Why give tax breaks to billionaire casino guys when you've raised my taxes?'"

SPECIAL GAMBLING SESSION AUGUST 9TH: Earlier this week, Maryland Juice broke news that the state legislators could expect to return to Annapolis for a special legislative session to debate gambling expansion. This morning, several Twitter users confirmed that Gov. Martin O'Malley announced that he would call the legislature back to work on August 9th. See the photo and Tweet from Maryland politico P. Kenneth Burns below:

Former Statehouse Candidate Eli El's Letter Explaining Lawsuit Against D20 Incumbents & ex-Blogger Adam Pagnucco

A pair of Maryland Juice sources have forwarded the following email from former District 20 Delegate candidate Eli El to four of Governor O'Malley's aides. In an article earlier this week, we noted that during last year's Democratic Primary, Mr. El's legal history was the subject of discussion on the Maryland Politics Watch blog. In particular, allegations of his past domestic disturbances came to light, and he is now contemplating suing those involved with the blog, as well as the three incumbents who defeated him -- Delegates Sheila Hixson, Tom Hucker and Heather Mizeur. Presumably, he blames all of them for the content on the blog, though his complaint acknowledges that the content was all publicly available through the Maryland courts. That is likely why the complaint focuses on bullying. As we also previously noted, the statute of limitations has likely run on these claims. See Eli El's email below:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Eli El <xxxxx@xxxxxxx.com>
Date: Thu, Nov 3, 2011 at 2:19 PM
Subject: ISO Attorney
To: jhitchcock@gov.state.md.us, jbarker@gov.state.md.us, rstemmle@gov.state.md.us, kcrispino@gov.state.md.us

Hello Friends, Family, and Neighbors,

I need everyone's help and prayers.  I am in search of an attorney to represent me as I file a defamation per quod action case against someone. This sums up the urgency of the situation:

Former District 20 Candidate Eli El Weighing Lawsuit Against Delegates Hixson, Hucker, Mizeur & ex-Blogger Adam Pagnucco

UPDATE: A reader points out that the blog posts in question were written over a year ago. That means the statute of limitations may have expired on these types of claims.

Former District 20 candidate for House of Delegates Eli El appears to be contemplating a lawsuit against District 20 Delegates Sheila Hixson, Tom Hucker and Heather Mizeur, along with former Maryland Politics Watch (MPW) blogger Adam Pagnucco. A source has pointed Maryland Juice in the direction of a draft legal complaint by Mr. El. We copy the document below.

It appears (for now) that Mr. El is representing himself, given the unusual construction of the complaint. It doesn't seem to actually state the legal basis for any claim upon which he might seek relief. Instead, Mr. El broadly discusses the tactic of "Cyberbullying" in political campaigns and seems to complain about the way the MPW blog discussed publicly available documents regarding alleged domestic disturbances in his legal docket. Unfortunately those articles are now offline:

Was Mr. El inspired by former Senator Mike Lenett's lawsuit against his former legislative aide? If so, we in the blogosphere should note the frivolous nature of Mr. El's claims -- lest we all begin to face a wall of harassment from sore losers everywhere. See the weak argumentation for yourself:


Draft Legal Complaint: Eli El vs. Adam Pagnucco, Sheila Hixson, Tom Hucker & Heather Mizeur

District 20 Melee: 15 New Candidates for Delegate in 2014 // Plus, Raskin for AG & Mizeur for [INSERT GUESS HERE]

CANDIDATE CORRECTIONS: Reuben Snipper called the idea of his candidacy "very funny" and thanked Maryland Juice "for the laughs." Tim Male also wrote in a denial: "I'm focused on the TP City Council, my day job and two kids."

UPDATE:  A person who claims to have been involved in the verification of the candidates in the list below, has offered up the following updates: "Terrell North for Council, not Delegate. I crossed off Josh Wright when he retired, and I would remove Tim Male who I'm positive is not thinking about running for state office." Yet another reader commented that Del. Hixson might retire and also questioned the source's redistricting notes below. Amazingly, they concluded by noting that I was still missing more candidates!

I sometimes have to remind myself that we are still over 2+ years away from the 2014 primaries. That's because Maryland Juice has already been covering an unusual amount of 2014 races (ie: Governor, Comptroller, Montgomery Executive, MoCo Council 5, etc). But today's politico rumor really outdoes the rest.

An anonymous source has leaked a list of fifteen new candidates for District 20 Delegate. All are Democrats who are eyeing the June 2014 Primary, and our source is claiming that each candidate's interest has been verified directly. District 20 currently includes parts of downtown Silver Spring, Takoma Park, and territories north to Springbrook High School. Not all of these folks will end up running, but for now, here is the crazy long D20 candidate list: